Deadly Secrets
by Paige Stardust
Summary: Ash has never know the man that is his father. Never seen or heard from him in years. Then one fateful night chance would have it that they should meet. What will come about from this. Only time will tell. R
1. Lost In The Woods

Deadly Secrets 

Disclaimer: I'm sorry to say that I do not in anyway own Pokemon or any of the characters related to it.  If I did I wouldn't be serving coffee as a living now would I. Lol =)

Author's Notes:  This fanfic takes place just after Ash competed in the Pokemon League.  And doesn't follow any of the plot after that.  I hope you all enjoy. This is my first attempt at posting a fic so reviews will be greatly appreciated.  I don't mind criticism as long as it isn't just down right rude nonsense.  Some characters may be changed a bit to suit the story so I apologize in advance if I offend any fans. Anyway once again I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 1:  Lost in the Woods

            "I can't believe you got us lost again!" screamed Misty at Ash who slowly started to back away from her.

             "It's not like I meant to!" cried Ash in defense as he looked to Pikachu for support, "Right, Pikachu." 

             "Pikachu, pike, pi chu." (I'm not getting involved) 

            "Thanks a lot, Pikachu." thanked Ash sarcastically

"Don't even try it, Ash Ketchum.  You have no one to blame but yourself!" yelled Misty as she grabbed him by the front of his shirt, "You better get us out of here! I do not want to spend another night in this stupid forest." 

"I'd love to see you try leading us, Misty!" yelled back Ash. 

"Fine, maybe I will." Countered Misty as she grabbed the map from Ash. 

"Oh brother." Sighed Brock as he looked down at Pikachu, "Will they ever stop?"

"Pikachu, pi" (probably not)

            "I think your right." agreed Brock. 

            "Alright, let's get going." Said Misty as she put the map in her pocket. 

*          *          *

"Way to go, Misty.  You sure got us out of this forest." yelled Ash over the rain that pounded down on them as they ran down the road.

            "It's not my fault it started to pour!" yelled back Misty, "If you weren't so..."

            "Enough!" interrupted Brock, "Lets just find some shelter quick."

            In the distance Ash saw the outline of what looked like a huge house.

            "Look up ahead!" yelled Ash in hope, "I think it's a house."

            "It is," confirmed Brock as he saw it to, "Maybe the owner will let us in till this storm blows over."

            "I hope so. Me and poor little Togepi are soaked." stated Misty as she checked again to make sure Togepi was ok.

            "Pika, pika chu, chu pike pipi" (What about me I'm suffocating) said Pikachu as she stuck her head out from under Ash's jacket.

            They finally reached the house, and Brock went forward and knocked on the door.  They stood there shivering for a few minutes till the door slowly creaked open, and a man peaked his head out. He had short black hair, bright brown eyes, and was wear some slippers and black pants, with a green robe wrapped around the rest of him.  "Oh you poor kids, come in, come in. Let's get you out of this rain." He cried quickly ushering them into his home. 

            Soon they were all wrapped up warmly in towels and blankets next to a blazing fire.  "We're sorry to intrude on you like this, sir." Apologized Misty, "But we really do appreciate all the trouble you've gone through for us."

            "Yes, thank you." Thanked Ash as well.

            "No thanks is necessary I'm always happy to help travelers." laughed the gentleman, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Merrick."

            "I'm Ash Ketchum" said Ash smiling, and then point to Pikachu he continued, "And this is Pikachu."  
            "My names Misty and this little cutie is Togepi" smiled Misty as Togepi cued as a reply.

            "And my name is Brock" greeted Brock. 

            "This is a lovely home you have, Merrick, but why do you live out here so far away from a city?" asked Misty curiously.

            "I'm a pokemon researcher/scientist so I like to be away from the busyness of the city so I can just focus on the pokemon and my research.  It's much easier to study them out here in their natural habitat." Answered Merrick. "It's getting late, so why don't I show you kids to your rooms, and we continue talking in the morning."

            "Oh, we don't want to intrude on you, sir, you've been kind enough already." Said Brock.

            "Your not intruding since I insist on your staying, it's still coming down pretty hard and I won't have any part in being the cause of any of you kids getting sick.  I won't take no for a answer." Insisted Merrick with a smile on his face.

            "Thank you so much, Merrick, we really appreciate this." Thanked Ash.

            "Come, come lets not waste any more times with thank you's" laughed Merrick as he lead the way down the hall.

*          *          *

            Ash yawned as he woke up in the middle of the night.  'Man, I need a drink' he thought as he got up slowly carefully trying not to wake up Pikachu.

            He quietly headed out into the hall and past the rooms Misty and Brock were sleeping in.  'Now where was that kitchen' wondered Ash he looked around trying to remember the way to go.

            As he was looking he came across a room that he hadn't seen when they we're there.  So he decided to go in.  It was a large living room with a couple of nice couches and chairs, and a fireplace in the corner with a small shelf over it.  On the shelf were a few photos that drew Ash's attention.  He picked one up and held it up to the light shining in from the hallway.  He gasped in shock almost dropping the photo, 'How-how can he have this? Why?' wondered Ash as he looked at the picture again.

            It was a picture of him at the age of five, riding his bike and smiling brightly at the camera a look of complete joy on his face.  Next to it was other photos of him at a young age, and at the end of the row was a picture of him a few weeks before he got his pokemon license, eyes sparkling in anticipation.  'This doesn't make any sense' cried Ash in his mind, as he quickly left the room. 

            He forgot all about getting a drink as he returned to his room, and quietly got back into bed thinking about what he had just seen.

Author's Notes: We'll that's part one. Sorry it's so short but I lost my original copy for the start of this fic so I'm basically redoing the beginning from scratch.  Once the story gets going more I'm hoping to write longer chapters than this, plus I'm hoping to have more time to do it.  I'm going to try and add a new chapter as often as I can.  But I have a condition for getting the next chapter. I want at least 10 reviews. I think that' s reasonable cause I want to know what you all think so far. So till next time. Keep enjoy all these awesome fanfics by all the different authors.


	2. Bonding

Chapter 2: Bonding

Author's Notes: Sorry it's taken me so long to get this out guys.  Things got really busy at school first I had exams and then planning a grad trip and going on it, and now I'm getting ready for graduation. * blah * lol ^_^ Anyway I have been working on this story a bit in school so here is the next chapter. Hope you all like it!! 

            I'd like to take a small bit of time to thank all the people who have reviewed my fic ^_^ Yay! You guys rock!

Dukes Alter Ego- all I have to say to you is =P and sorry dude but I don't plan on killing myself anytime soon so I'm sorry if 

                               that disappoints you.

Akiko- I'm always happy to review other peoples stuff ^_^ especially when they promise to review mine lol j/k but I'm glad   

              you wanna see where I'm going with this story.

Ranko Ketchum- Thanks ^_^ I'm happy you think it's great.  And you'll just have to wait and see if they will (well ok they   probably will but don't spoil it for everyone else) * glances around and sees a whole group of people around her hearing what she just said  ^_^"" oppsie lol* 

Joy-girl- Don't worry I will ^_^ even if it takes me forever I'll get this fic finished lol I hope.

Pika318- yep he's Ash's father. And I don't know what Pikachu's official gender is but I like to think of Pikachu as a girl. * shrugs* dunno why I just do ^_^

Mewtwo- Yeah I thought it'd be different cause I haven't seen to many fics with Ash's dad in it so I thought it'd be funky to do ^_^

Kate- Don't worry I will, may take me awhile but there is only 3 weeks of school left than hopefully I'll be better at getting things out since I won't have to worry about school.

SilverFang- Thanks I hope I don't disappoint you

YxAshKetchumxY- I'm going I'm going!! Lol ^_^ Hopefully as I get more going with this I'll start to get some of your questions answered. 

So thanks again to all you wonder full people who reviewed….well most of yas anyway =/ don't appreciate being told I'm going to end up killing myself but hey! Everyone is entitled to their own opinions! ^_^ so read on and enjoy.

                        *                                              *                                              *

            A forest was blanketed by the darkness of night, the only light came from the full moon shining brightly overhead.  A quiet breeze rattled the branches of the trees, breaking the eerie quiet of the forest.  And in the middle of the forest stood Ash lost, confused, and alone. He looked around him as a small chill raced up his spine causing him to involuntarily shiver.  He had a bad feeling about this place.  'Where am I?' wondered Ash worried, 'Why is it so quiet?'

            He carefully started to make his way through the forest, as he picked a random direction to start heading.  The further he went the worse the bad feeling he had about the forest grew.  After walking for a while a minor fog began to fill the forest making it hard for him to see things around himself.  Ahead of him, Ash thought he saw the outline of a figure through the fog.  Filled with the hope of figuring out where the heck he was, Ash ran as quick as he could toward the figure.  Once he was close enough to make out who it was, he gasped in shock.  There was a huge clearing in front of him and in the center of it was Misty.  Her arms were tied behind her back, her feet tied together, her hair was undone so it flew freely in the small breeze, and her face was wet with tears.  As she gazed up and saw Ash, her eyes filled with hope, and fresh tears of relief fell down her cheeks.  "Ash?" she whispered hopefully, scared that he was just an illusion.

            "Hold on, Misty!" called Ash as he got over his shock and rushed toward her.

            Before he could get close to her though, the trees by him suddenly shot out vines wrapping around him from his shoulders to his ankles.  Ash cried out in pain as the vines tightened as he struggled to get free.  He continued to struggle till he saw a dark figure step out of the trees beside him.  The person was wearing a black cloak with a hood over his head hiding his face.  The only part of his face that was visible was his eyes.  They were deep blood red eyes that reflected nothing but coldness and hatred towards him and Misty.  And as Ash looked into them he felt the worst feeling of fear he ever had before.  The person looked as for a second before focusing his attention on Misty, and walked over to her.  Misty shock in terror as the person walked up to her, and picked her up throwing her over his shoulder; he quickly ran off into the fog.  "No! Let me go!" screamed Misty in absolute terror, "Ash! Help me, please!"

            "Misty!" screamed Ash as he struggled even harder to get free.

            Then echoing in the forest was the most anguished, pain filled scream he had ever heard coming from Misty. "Misty!" screamed Ash in absolute horror as tears spilled down his face as her scream continued to echo in his mind and soul.

                        *                                              *                                              *

            "No!" cried Ash as he shot up out of his bed.

            His eyes darted around the room dazedly, as he slowly realized he was in a bed and not the forest.  He was covered in sweat, and gasping for air as he tried to calm down.

"Pika-pi, pikachu pi pi?" (Ash, are you ok?) asked Pikachu worried.

            Ash looked down at her a sighed in relief as he realized it was just a nightmare.  He pet her on the head as he answered, "Yeah I'm fine, Pikachu, just a bad dream.  Sorry I woke you."

            "Pika chu pi pi pika pika chu" (Must have been some dream.)

            "It was way to intense, but I'll be ok," Replied Ash as he yawned, looking at the clock he saw that it was 9:30 am, "May as well get up."

            "Pi." (Ok) agreed Pikachu as she hopped off the bed as Ash stood up.

            Ash quickly got dressed and then they made their way toward the kitchen.  Suddenly Ash came to abrupt stop as he looked into the room he had visited earlier last night.  "Pikachu, you go on ahead I'm sure there is a bottle of ketchup with your name on it, waiting for you in the kitchen." Said Ash distracted.

            "Pi Pika pika!" (Yay! Ketchup!) cheered Pikachu as she ran as fast as she could to the kitchen.

            'Maybe I just dreamed those photos.' Thought Ash to himself as he walked into the room.

            He quickly walked over to the fireplace, and there just like before were all the pictures of him from as a little kid to the day he left Pallat town on his pokemon journey.  He picked one up, showing him when he was little riding his bike for the first time without training wheels. 'How does he have all these pictures?' wondered Ash really confused, 'It doesn't make sense there's no reason he should have these. I've never seen him before!'

            "Anything wrong, Ashura?" asked Merrick as he walked into the room.

            Startled out of his thoughts Ash quickly shot around and sighed in relief as he saw it was only Merrick.  Then Ash quickly became defensive as the pictures came back to his mind. "How do you know my full name is Ashura?" demanded Ash as he glared at Merrick, "And why do you have all these pictures of me!"

            Confusion and a small flicker of hurt flashed through Merrick's eyes as he looked at Ash.  "Why shouldn't I know?  I am your father, and so I do have –" began Merrick.

            "What!" exclaimed Ash interrupting.

            Ash looked at Merrick closely as realization began to sink in as he noticed all the similarities between them.  "Didn't you-oh-," began Merrick as a slight bit of anger filled him, "Delilah never told you did she?"

            "N-No." stammered Ash quietly in shock.

            Ash could not believe it.  Standing here in front of him was the man he had wondered about his whole life.  Wondered what he looked like, what he was like, everything.  And now by sheer luck he had found him, Ash quickly sat down on the nearest piece of furniture as hundreds of thoughts ran through his mind. 'My-dad. Wow, I've finally met my father.' Thought Ash as he felt joy, shock, and disbelief all at once.

            "I guess this explains why you didn't seem to know me when you and your friends showed up on my doorstep." Laughed Merrick, "Come on, lets go to the kitchen before your friends start to wonder what is taking you so long."

            "Uh-right." Stammered Ash as the shock began to wear off.

            Ash stood up and dazedly followed Merrick to the kitchen.  "Finally decided to join us, Ash." Smiled Misty as Ash and Merrick came into the room. 

            "Once you have some breakfast we should get going if we want to make it before it gets dark." Suggested Brock.

            "Oh, you want to leave already." Said Merrick surprised; "I was sort of hoping you might have wanted to stay here for a little while, Ash, so we could get to know each other better."

            "Really!" exclaimed Ash as he finally came out of his shocked state, excited at the idea of getting to know his father.

            Merrick laughed, "Of course, what father wouldn't want to get to know his own child."

            "What!" exclaimed a surprised Brock, Misty, and Pikachu.

            "Pika-pi, pikachu pika ka" (Ash, is that true?)

            "Yeah, I just found out.  I've always wondered what my father was like, and now I have the chance to.  You guys can go ahead of me, while I stay here for three days.  Then I'll meet up with you in Viridian City.  I'll call you before I head out."  Said Ash in a quick flurry of words since he was so excited.

                                                *                                              *                                              *

            "See you guys in three days!" yelled Ash as he waved goodbye to Brock and Misty.

            Smiling he walked back into the mansion.  They three days flew by for Ash, as they spent all their time filling each other in what has happened to them over their lives.  Before they knew it the three days had past and it was time for Ash to continue on his journey.  Ash quickly ran to the vid-phone and called Brock and Misty.  "Hey guys I'm heading out now so I should be at the pokemon center before nightfall." Informed Ash.

            "Awesome, we'll see you in a few hours man." Grinned Brock as he quickly left after a Nurse Joy that had just walked by.

            "Oh brother." Sighed Misty as she watched him run off. "I better deal with him. Try not to get lost, Ash."

            "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Misty."  Growled Ash annoyed.

            Misty laughed, "Any time. See you when you get here. If you do." And with that she hung up.

            Ash mumbled something about scrawny girls as he gathered his hat and kitbag.  "Alright, Pikachu, we're all set to go." Smiled Ash as she hopped up onto his shoulder. "We'll show Misty that we won't get lost."

            "Pi!" cheered Pikachu as she gave the V for Victory sign with her paw.

            They went to the front door to say goodbye to Ash's Dad.

To Be Continued….

Author's Notes:  Sorry guys decided to cut it off there since I want the next part to work better than it is right now.  Hope your liking it so far.  I promise all the good stuff will be coming soon. ^_^ Till Next Time have fun reading all those great fanfics other authors have to offer.


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